‘Pothole city’ 42nd Street getting major makeover

CEDAR RAPIDS — An overhaul of a particularly gnarly stretch of 42nd Street NE is set to begin Monday and last for months, complicating the drive to nearby homes, schools, churches and businesses.

Potholes and cracks adorned the road surface while the edges were a slurry of grit and gravel on Thursday morning. This busy arterial street carrying about 12,000 vehicles per day has long drawn the frustration of commuters heading to Transamerica, Pierce Elementary School and Kennedy High school, among other destinations.

'It's just pothole city,' said James Muench, Kennedy associate principal who also lives in the area. 'The city patches it up as best they can, but the pavement still is in bad shape. This project is overdue. It will inconvenience some people, but we will get through it.'

Reconstruction area of 42nd Street NE

The street is set for a full reconstruction with new pavement, bike lanes and wider sidewalks between Wenig Road NE and Interstate 380 by late October.

The work will be phased in to accommodate the school year at Kennedy and Pierce, but will still cause delays.

'I don't think you will find anyone complaining because anyone who's been driving on 42nd Street knows it's been needed for a long, long time,' said Pastor Paul Wilcox of Lovely Lane United Methodist Church, which is in the heart of the construction area.

Wilcox called it the 'worst road in Cedar Rapids in terms of potholes,' and one that has ruined his car's tires and alignment. Wilcox noted the church property lost four trees, including three mature oaks, as part of the easement needed for construction, but said he was pleased the road will include bike lanes to connect to the greater trail system in the area.

Some had hoped widening 42nd Street meant a conversion to two lanes in each direction, similar to 42nd Street west of Wenig. But that would have eaten up much more private land, Wilcox said.

When finished, 42nd Street will return to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. At the Wenig intersection, a right turn lane will be added on westbound 42nd Street and a designated left turn traffic signal also will be added to help with traffic flow to Kennedy High.

When voters approved a 1-cent local-option sales tax to fix roads, city officials quickly zeroed in on 42nd Street. As pavement conditions were assessed using the Fugro Roadware Automatic Road Analyzer — a vehicle with data sensors — officials realized the road was in worse shape than they thought, said Emily Muhlbach, a city spokeswoman for development.

'Since 42nd Street plays such an important role in the northeast quadrant of Cedar Rapids, it receives heavy use and its decline impacts thousands of people,' Muhlbach said. 'Improvements have been needed for some years, and our desire was to improve this road early in the Paving for Progress program.'

In February, the City Council approved a $2.9 million contract, plus up to $160,000 in incentives, with Rathje Construction Co. for the work, which also includes water main rehabilitation.

The 42nd Street project will be broken into a few phases with a few principle points: The intersections of 42nd and Northwood and 42nd and Wenig will both close, but the closures will not happen at the same time. Over the summer, 42nd Street will close in its entirety from I-380 to Wenig, but not while school is in session.

Changing traffic

From Monday until early June (after the school year ends June 2):

• One-way westbound traffic only from I-380 to Northwood Drive NE.

• Northwood to Wenig will continue ti have one lane in each direction.

• Northbound and southbound traffic on Northwood will still be able to turn west onto 42nd Street.

After after school lets out until late June or early July:

• 42nd Street closes between Wenig and I-380, with accommodations for local traffic between Northwood and I-380.

• The Wenig intersection at 42nd Street remains open.

• The Northwood intersection will be closed.

From late June or early July until mid-August (after the Northwood intersection reopens):

• 42nd remains closed from Wenig to I-380.

• The Wenig intersection will close.

• 42nd Street from Wenig to Northwood will reopen to traffic by mid-August.

From mid-August (school starts Aug. 23) to late October:

• Plans are still in flux, but officials are considering options such as local traffic only or one-way traffic westbound only from I-380 to Northwood.

Also this construction season, light work is slated for 42nd Street from Edgewood Road to Seminole Valley. This includes patching and smoothing the pavement to extend the life of the road.